This invention relates generally to heating devices and, more particularly, to a prosthetic limb heating apparatus configured to impart heat to a liner of a prosthetic limb assembly such that the stump of an amputee is warmed when a conductive wire of the prosthetic limb heating apparatus is energized.
Persons who have experienced the amputation of a limb, such as a leg or an arm, must care for stump that is left, including addressing the discomfort that occurs when the stump gets cold. An amputee's stump may get cold due to decreased blood circulation or due to interaction with a prosthetic device that is pulled on over the stump.
Various devices and proposals have been introduced in an attempt to keep an anatomical stump warm, such as wearing tube socks over the stump. In US 2012/0004738, it was proposed that a warming sleeve include a heated wire powered by a rechargeable battery. Although assumably effective for its intended purpose, the proposed heated sleeve has the potential to burn the person wearing it as it is in direct contact with the stump. In addition, the warming sleeve has a closed lower end such that it cannot be worn while the amputee is actually wearing a prosthetic assembly, such as an artificial arm or leg worn by the amputee. In other words, the heated sleeve does not allow portions of a prosthetic assembly to extend therethrough.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a prosthetic limb heating apparatus having a sleeve that defines an open top and open bottom such that a traditional prosthetic assembly may still be worn in a normal fashion. Further, it would be desirable to have a prosthetic limb heating apparatus configured to receive a prosthetic liner therein and that warms the liner such that the liner that receives a stump of an amputee is heated.